Past Rivals
by ProjectWeAreOne
Summary: One shot. Luigi helps take care of an injured Koopa.


The troop of Koopas walked back and forth, back and forth, waiting for a plumber to come their way. Red or green, they could care less whether they stopped Mario or stopped Luigi, just as long as they served their duty to King Bowser.

On top of a **?** box lay a red shelled Koopa. His feet ached from marching back and forth so many times. He looked around The Mushroom Kingdom, and was amazed by it's serenity. He'd never stopped to take a good look around recently. Patrolling for plumbers had kept him pretty occupied. He soon felt his eyelids get heavy and he fell asleep.

...

The Koopa jolted awake when the boxes under him were hit, causing him to fall to the ground. He groaned as he got back onto his feet. That's when he saw Mario, catching a mushroom that came out of the block. He dusted himself off and ran after Mario, who in turn jumped onto his shell.

The Koopa winced, the fall had hurt him enough already, but having his shell stomped hurt more. He managed to scamper away from a patch of tall grass watched the plumber as he hopped off.

His body ached horribly, and he lay there whimpering and whining. He closed his eyes and hoped he could ignore it. He laid on his side and managed to fall asleep again.

...

The sound of feet rustling through the grass woke him up again. He saw the other brother making his way through. He struggled to get into his fighting stance as he stumbled over to Luigi.

Luigi stopped at stared at the odd sight: A red shelled Koopa bent over and pacing slowly toward him. His eyes baggy and some scrapes on his elbows and knees.

"Uh?" He wasn't sure how to react to this Koopa. For some reason jumping on his shell didn't seem like the best option.

The Koopa kept limping over, ready to knock Luigi out, but then he felt a sharp stinging in his knee cap. He let out a pained whine and fell down, holding onto it tightly.

Luigi frowned and approached the Koopa. He tried to put his defense up against the green plumber, but he couldn't, he was in pain. "Are you okay?"

"O-of course I'm o-o-okay you….you...green,cowardly,stupid...plumber!" He yelled,wincing.

Luigi frowned and despite his better judgement knelt in front of him. The Koopa snarled defensively. Luigi put his hand gently on his shell and looked him over. "Are you sure? You look kinda...uh…"

"Kinda what?" The Koopa challenged, still trying to be tough.

"Hurt…" Luigi finished.

"Well...I'm not!" He spat in reply. "Now get out of here before I knock you out!"

Luigi stayed here for a moment,doubting his threat. The Koopa sneered and tried to slug him in the face. However his arm went limp and he let out a pained whine instead as he gripped his arm.

"Come on." Luigi said gently, putting his hand out to him. He pulled away and fell onto his shell. Luigi picked him and cradled him gently. "You need help."

"Not from you!"

The Koopa tried to squirm from his grasp but it was futile. He was going with his enemy whether he liked it or not.

Luigi paused when they reached his and Mario's small house. He opened the door and called, "M-M-Mario?" No answer. Luigi let out a sigh of relief and walked inside. He set the Koopa down on an arm chair and went to the kitchen.

The Koopa looked around the room. So many awards for being heroes, so many mementos from past adventures. _I'm surprised he doesn't have shells of my brothers and sisters in here._ He looked towards the kitchen and when he was sure the coast was clear he decided to make a run for it.

He carefully got off the armchair and limped towards the door. He got about halfway across before he collapsed from the pain in his knee. He whined and held on tightly. Luigi came out a moment later and panicked when he saw him laying on the ground. He hurried over and scooped him into his arms. "Did you fall?"

"No." The Koopa sneered. "I was trying to escape, but my darn knee..."

Luigi frowned and sat down in the arm chair with the Koopa. He has a wet soapy washcloth that he gently scrubbed the bruises with. The Koopa winced through most of it, but he seemed calm when he washed the two thick cuts in his shell.

"So what's your name?" Luigi asked awkwardly , trying to make conversation.

"Skylar"

"That's a nice name." Luigi said, as he started washing a cut on his elbow.

"Yeah...thanks…" Skylar mumbled, looking away. When he was finished, Luigi picked him up and brought him to his and Mario's room.

"You should rest a bit." Luigi said, tucking him in. Skylar closed his eyes, but didn't turn away from the plumber, or let himself fall asleep.

"Luigi!" Someone yelled from downstairs.

Luigi panicked. "It's Mario! Skylar, stay under the blanket, okay?"

"Fine." Skylar huffed before doing so.

"H-hey bro…" Luigi said nervously.

"Hello Luigi." Mario said with a big smile. "I got dinner."

"Gr-great...what is it?"

Mario pulled various turnips out of pocket and put them on the table. He giggled sheepishly, "I over estimated how many Shy Guys there were…I was thinking of making a soup."

"Good idea, big bro!"

Mario started heading towards the stairs and Luigi panicked. He stood in front of the stairs. "W-where are you going?"

"To get FLUDD, it's easier to clean turnips with them instead of the sink."

"Uh, I'll get them for you bro, you start uh, getting the broth ready."

Mario smiled and started getting the pot ready. Luigi went upstairs, panting anxiously. Hearing the door open, Skylar looked up.

"Hide under the blanket."

Skylar rolled his eyes but did so.

Luigi went over to the bedside table where FLUDD sat. He tried to grab them without turning them on.

"Greetings Luigi."

 _Great…_

"M-mario needs you."

"I am always ready to help defend the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Err, it's a bit more simple than that...He needs your help washing turnips."

"I am always ready to assist Mario as well."

Luigi was about to grab FLUDD, but they suddenly turned their head the other way. "Preparing to register new user information. Scanning and classifying subject data. Subject identified as Skylar, resident of the Mushroom Kingdom. Data storage complete. I am FLUDD, a Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. I hope to be of assistance."

Skylar scoffed. "Trust me, I know who you are. You and that dumb red plumber took down the boss together."

" 'The Boss" as in referring to the princess?" FLUDD asked.

Skylar didn't look happy. "No of course not! I mean the boss as in Bowser!"

FLUDD turned to Luigi. "You must equip me and take out this enemy."

"No, no, no Fludd, it's okay." Luigi said, panicking.

"This Koopa works for Bowser, he is a threat." FLUDD explained.

"F-FLUDD i-it's okay. He's hurt and I-I'm taking care of him. H-he's not going to hurt us."

"I see. Is Mario aware of him being here?"

"Uh….er….no…" Luigi said nervously.

"Then we must inform him."

"No! Sorry I mean, h-he can't find out!"

"Why not?" FLUDD asked.

"He wouldn't understand. Listen it's just for a few days, please don't tell him okay?"

FLUDD turned their head towards Skylar and thought for a moment before turning back to Luigi. "I will not tell Mario."

Luigi sighed in relief. "Thank you." He went downstairs and handed them to Mario. "Here you go, bro."

"Thank you." Mario said as he put the water pump on. He aimed FLUDD's nozzle carefully at the turnip and sprayed the dirt off.

That night Luigi and Mario had a nice dinner of boiled turnips and rice. Afterwards Luigi fake yawned. "Well, good night."

Mario furrowed his brows. "Luigi it's only seven."

Luigi forced another yawn. "Still a long day. Tomorrow might be even longer, so better get some rest."

Mario blinked. "Okay Luigi, good night." He said awkwardly.

Luigi went over to the bed, and pulled the covers up. Skylar greeted him with a blank expression. From his pocket Luigi produced two turnips. "Here I know it's not much, but they were left over."

Skylar grabbed them quickly and chowed down really fast. He then yawned and stretched his arms and legs out. Skylar then snuggled into the bed and fell asleep. Luigi couldn't help but smile a bit too, and joined him in the bed. Skylar scooted away and pressed his back against the wall. That way he wouldn't be caught by surprise if Luigi attacked.

The worry of that is what kept Skylar awake for a few hours before his eyelids became heavy and drooped shut, as he fell asleep.

…

Skylar woke up to a sweet smell and his stomach growled.

There were hurried footsteps up the stairs, and he hid under the blanket, gripping the corners tightly.

"Skylar?"

Luigi.

Slowly the Koopa lifted the blanket and saw the plumber smiling happily with a plate of pancakes in his hands. "I told Mario I wanted to eat up here." He sat on the edge of the bed.

Skylar examined the pancakes, one was shaped like a one up mushroom, and the other was shaped like a coin.

Luigi handed him a fork. "We can share them."

"Okay." Skylar said,taking the fork and cutting off a bit of pancake with the edge of it. "We have to share the berry bush for breakfast usually. I mean I usually only get like two berries…."

Luigi frowned. "Is that all you eat for breakfast usually?"

"And lunch." Skylar said, taking another bite.

Luigi seemed worried. "O-oh...here take the rest of these…"

"I don't need your pity." Skylar sneered, but he scarfed them down anyways.

There were steps coming up the stairs, and Luigi covered Skylar with the blanket. It was Mario.

"Luigi the princess has invited us to a picnic!" He said excitedly.

"T-that's great Mario,but-" Luigi faked a yawn. "I'm still a bit wiped out from yesterday, but tell the princess I said hi."

Mario frowned but nodded. "All right bro."

When he left, Skylar got out from under the blanket. "What you're not going?"

"I don't want to leave you alone." Luigi said.

Skylar was surprised. "R-really?"

"Yes, you're still hurt...and I was thinking if you were up to it, you'd want to see the house?"

Skylar shrugged. "Sure. I don't wanna stay in your bed all day."

Luigi gave him a tour of his and Mario's house. They reached their last stop. "And this is the power up closest."

Skylar curiously looked inside, his eyes fixated on the wing cap.

"Skylar?" Luigi tried to get his attention.

"Huh?" He looked over.

"Are you okay?" Luigi asked.

"Y-yeah I'm fine." He sounded kind of dazed, but shook out of it. "Thanks for showing stuff, it's pretty boring here."

Luigi frowned. "We could do something fun if you're bored."

"Like what?"

"Uh...play a game?"

Skylar shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Luigi pulled out a game board, and set it up. He let Skylar chose his piece and go first. After an hour of playing and some semi harsh teasing, Luigi had won the game.

"Want to play again?" He asked.

"Nah." Skylar said, "I kind of want some alone time."

"Okay...I'll go start lunch then." Luigi said, going to the kitchen.

Skylar went back towards the power up closet and grabbed the wing cap. He sat down and stroked the wings on either side of the cap.

About an hour later Luigi called, "Skylar!" Startling him. He headed to the kitchen and saw Luigi had made a salad from the left over vegetables that didn't make it into the soup.

Luigi gave him a large portion that he ate very fast. "Thanks." He said, after gulping down his last bites. "I'm ready to play some more games."

Luigi smiled, "All right!"

The two of them played a few board games before getting bored with them.

"Want to do something else?" Luigi asked.

"Sure." Skylar said as he helped put the game away. "How about a walk? I haven't really gotten any exercise for a while."

The two of them went to the front yard and strolled around the house a few times. There was a small breeze that Skylar let brush over him, smiling lightly. He looked up and in the sky saw some birds flying together in a V shaped pattern.

"How are you holding up?" Luigi asked, snapping him out of his trance.

"Huh? Er, I'm..I'm doing fine." Skylar said. "It's just the birds...they're so beautiful..."

Luigi cocked his head up to look and smiled lightly. "Oh, they really are! I wish I could fly all the time like they can, but finding a wing cap is-"

He noticed Skylar had kept going. "Hey, w-w-wait for me Skylar!"

The Koopa stopped and looked over. The plumber made it over, and panted.

Skylar smirked. "What's wrong? I'm no Koopa the Quick, you shouldn't fall behind so easily." He teased.

Luigi laughed a little.

"You distracted me, that's not fair!"

"All right, you have a point there. I'll race ya back to the house then...and win fair and square."

"Sounds fair." Luigi said. The two of them ran back to the house, laughing the whole way.

...

"Bro I'm going out." Luigi said, Skylar hiding behind him, carefully stepping in rhythm.

Mario blinked "This late? Where are you going?"

"Just outside. I want to look at the stars."

Mario relaxed. "All right bro. I love you."

"I love you too bro."

Luigi and Skylar made their way into the front yard and laid down in the grass. The stars sparkled brilliantly like coins in the sky. They formed together in constellations: One resembled a Yoshi head, one a gold coin, and one a mushroom.

Skylar smiled but then bit his lip. He sighed a little bit.

Luigi turned towards him, worried. "What's wrong?"

"I-I..I'm just remembering...Remembering how the cool night air felt...how it felt like I could touch the stars. I knew I couldn't but I flew as close as I could to them anyway. Hearing the sounds of The Mushroom Kingdom were so...comforting. Piranha plants snoring, Goombas finding patches of grass to sleep, and the sound the wind made. Heck, even the sound of night time parties Peach threw sounded so nice."

"That sounds wonderful." Luigi said, awed by his words.

He nodded lightly. "Yeah...I miss my wings." He sat up. "That's why I can't forgive your brother for what he did to me."

Luigi sat up as well and put his arm around Skylar in comfort. "I love you Skylar."

"I-I..I love you too...You've been such a good friend." He let out a small yawn and rested his head into Luigi's chest. He stayed quiet for a moment. "I..I still remember it perfectly."

...

 _Skylar flapped his wings as he surveyed the ground for any sign of those pesky plumbers. He sighed unable to see any and perched on a warp pipe._

 _"Hello." Said a voice from behind. Skylar was startled and turned around to see a piranha plant emerge from_ the pipe.

 _"Did I scare you?" She playfully teased._

 _"Y-yeah. Sorry if I caused you any problems."_

 _"Just as long as you aren't either of those plumbers, we don't have a problem. I'm Ivy."_

 _"I'm Skylar. You probably won't see them anyway, nothing exciting has happened all day." He sighed. "I flew around the area, but nothing. Not even a Yoshi to be seen!"_

 _"Well when-and if- they do come, they'll face my fire balls." Ivy shot a few of them into the air._

 _"And I'll be ready to take them down!" Skylar said, putting his fists up like an old timey boxer._

 _"Easy there Little Mac." She teased. "I don't want to have to use all my power defending myself from you."_

 _"I can say the same thing about you."_

 _Ivy suddenly seemed worried. Before Skylar could ask what was wrong, he felt a stomp on his back. He screamed in pain as his wings dislodged from the shell and onto the ground below._

 _Ivy snarled and shot fire balls at the nearest plumber, Mario. Skylar tried to knock him out, but he was nearly stomped on again. Luckily for him, Mario got distracted dodging Ivy's fireballs._

 _Once he was out of sight, she focused her attention to Skylar. "Y-your wings…"_

 _Skylar winced as tears streamed down his face. "I-it h-h-hurts."_

 _Ivy used her head to pull him closer and examine his wounds. There were trickles of blood in the two spots the wings used to be. She used her leaves to wipe as much blood off as she could, and putting pressure on it. Ivy looked at a Goomba. "Hey, you!"_

" _M-me?" The Goomba asked._

 _Ivy tilted her head towards a_ _ **?**_ _box. "There's a mushroom in there, can you get it for me?"_

" _O-of c-c-cour...sure." The Goomba said. She made her way to the box and activated it. She grabbed the mushroom and brought it over. "H-h-here you go."_

" _Thank you." Ivy said. She put it next to Skylar's mouth and encouraged him to take small bites._

" _T-t-thanks." Skylar said as he sat up. He whined as he stroked his back._

" _You want to rest here for a while?"_

" _I can't. Every time Mario or Luigi get away we have to report our failure to Bowser."_

" _Sounds scary."_

 _Skylar nodded. "It is…but I better get it over with…"_

 _Skylar made his way to Bowser's castle. The Koopalings and Bowser Jr were playing together, laughing loudly. After being adopted by Bowser, the seven Koopalings accepted Bowser Jr as their eighth sibling._

 _Lemmy giggled as he playfully tackled Jr down. He giggled too and gently pushed Lemmy on the cheek with his hand._

 _Wendy, probably practicing sneak attacks, pounched Roy from behind "Got'cha!"_

 _Ludwig stood on a box to address the rest of his siblings, Larry,Morton,Iggy. "My newest invention will stop those plumbers for sure! Once this coin is touched, it will turn into a Koopa! It's brilliant!"_

 _They paused their play as they watched Skylar pass,looking at his feet. They knew he was going to tell their father of a failure._

 _Skylar made it to the throne room, whimpering. Bowser looked down at him with an icy glare, waiting._

" _Th-the plumbers g-got away…." He said, not looking Bowser in the eyes._

" _Typical." Bowser snarled. "Now return to your post with the other Koopa Troopas."_

" _I-I'm a P-para Koopa,your m-majesty."_

 _Bowser looked at him. "You don't have wings…"_

" _I-I lost them…"_

" _Then you'll join the Troopas."_

" _But-"_

" _Go! I must prepare for my foes to arrive." He snarled. He looked at the cage next to him, holding Yoshi, who was crying as he held his tail close to his chest._

 _Skylar nodded solemnly and headed to the nearest pack of Troopas who were in the castle._

 _The leader of that specific troop noticed Skylar and approached. In Mushroom Kingdom Sign Language (MSL) she signed,_ _ **I haven't seen you here before. Who are you?**_

 _Skylar shakily signed_ _ **I'm new.**_

 _ **I see. I'm Shelly, the leader of this troop. Why don't you position yourself below that block there?**_ _She pointed._

 _Skylar nodded and took his place. In his head he was planning what he'd do to Mario when he was him again. When he heard the hurried footsteps echo through the castle, he clenched his fist in anticipation._

 _However to his disappointment, Princess Peach had infiltrated the castle before Mario and Luigi. Still he prepared himself. However when the princess went for the item box he was under, he panicked and ran away. He ran straight into another Koopa_

 _ **What are you doing!?**_ _Shelly asked angrily._

 _ **This is my first time working on the ground I'm sorry.**_

 _Shelly blinked_ _ **What do you mean this is your first time 'on the ground'?**_

 _ **Before this, I had wings….And now I don't.**_

 _Shelly paused for a moment._ _ **I see. I'll make sure we place you in a safer position next time.**_

 _ **Thank you**_

….

"Now I'm an expert Troopa." Skylar said, still snuggling close to Luigi. "I hadn't been hit in a long time...Well before a few days ago."

Luigi exhaled. "I...I remeber that day…"

Skylar looked him in the eyes. "You do?" He seemed surprised.

"Y-yeah. Bowser was using Yoshi as bait to capture us. Peach,Toad, Mario, and I all took separate paths to make sure we could get there as quickly as possible. Me and Mario's path met halfway through so we decided to stick together. I-if I remember correctly I was the one leading us."

Skylar shook as his heart pounded against his chest. He clamped his hands onto the grass and cried.

Luigi knelt beside him. "Skylar, focus on breathing."

Skylar twisted the grass between his fingers, ripping it out of the ground. He sweat as he grabbed more.

"Focus on breathing. You can get through this." Luigi said gently."I'm here for you."

"You...you did this…" Skylar said, his voice hoarse,

"I-I'm s-s-sorry…" Luigi said, trying to put his hand on Skylar's shell.

Skylar jerked away. "Leave me alone."

"Skylar, I-I-'m sorry." Luigi pleaded.

When he was able to, Skylar got up on his shaky legs and ran. The moon was full and high in the sky. When he finally got back to Bowser's castle it had set and the sky radiated orange and red as the sun rose.

The corridor was absent of Koopalings, who were probably still asleep. _What if King Bowser is asleep too?_

He gulped as he made his way to the throne room, expecting it to be empty. However on the throne sat the king, who instantly turned his attention to Skylar. "What do you want?"

"I-I...I um..I.." Skylar struggled to even begin to explain the last few days. "Um...I..L-Lu-"

Bowser however started sniffing the air deeply. "That scent….It's Luigi!" He stood up and prepared himself for battle. A second later though he lowered his defensive stance and sniffed the air again. He got closer to Skylar. "It's not Luigi...it's you!"

"Er...a-about th-that...I-"

"You betrayed me!" Bowser roared. Out of anger he blew fire, that Skylar just narrowly dodged.

"W-wait I can explain!" Skylar pleaded.

Bowser didn't listen and instead swung his claws at Skylar, scraping his soft underbelly. Skylar winced and stumbled back.

Skylar went into his shell and tried to slide attack, but it did little to hurt Bowser, who retaliated with his own shell spin attack. Skylar groaned as he was thrown against the wall, a tiny stream of blood trickled down his lip.

He whined, about to accept his fate as Bowser towered over him, snarling.

Bowser suddenly let out a yelp of pain. Skylar opened his eyes and saw Luigi, who had a tight grip on his tail.

"Luigi!" Bowser snarled, lunging towards the plumber. Luigi jumped out of the way and bounced on his snout.

Bowser tried to grab him as he climbed over his shell, and grabbed his tail again. Bowser turned towards him and breathed fire. Luigi was slightly damaged, but he kept fighting by jumping on Bowser's cranium a few more times.

After that, Bowser collapsed. Skylar looked at Luigi in awe, standing there so seriously, tired from battle.

"Skylar!" Luigi ran over. The Koopa whined and pulled back nervously as he approached. "Skylar….I'm sorry…"

"I-I know you are." Skylar whined nervously. "B-but you hurt me and I...I can't forgive you...I'm sorry I...I just can't…."

"Skylar...It's okay. I-I understand,but at least let me help you, you're hurt." He reached out his hand, and Skylar took it.

Luigi helped him back to the house and washed him with a wet, soapy cloth. "Now you're ready."

"Ready? Ready for what?" Skylar asked nervously.

"Er...the princess…"

"Peach!? Why!?"

"I had to tell Mario what happened when you left. He told me to look for you, and talked to the princess...She wants to meet you."

Skylar felt his knees buckle and he shook as his palms sweat. Despite his mouth being dry he managed to speak, "I-I don't...I...I'm s-s-scared….W-what if she h-hates me?"

"The princess loves everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"B-but I worked for Bowser…"

"She won't hold it against you, I promise." He said gently.

Skylar sighed. "I..I….O-o-okay…"

….

Skylar and Luigi entered princess Peach's throne room. There sat the princess, with Toad guards standing on either side. As they approached Skylar had a feeling the Toads would lunge and attack him.

As they got closer, Peach arose from her throne. Unsure what to do, Skylar bowed. Peach leaned down to his level and embraced him. Although surprised, he hugged back. For a moment he just stood there in the princess' soft warm hold. Eventually he and Peach both pulled away.

"You must be Skylar." Her voice was very gentle.

Skylar nodded.

"Luigi told me everything." She explained. "Do you wish to stay with Bowser?"

"No!" Skylar panicked.

Peach looked worried. "I understand. How about a house in the kingdom mainland?"

"R-really?"

"Yes. It's as far away from Bowser's domain as possible without leaving the kingdom."

"Th-thank you." Skylar said, calming down.

Peach smiled. "Of course."

…..

A week had passed and Skylar was settling in nicely to his new home. It was a small home, but still bigger than his previous home.

There was a knock on the door startling him. _What if it's Bowser?_

He nervously opened the door, but instead of a vengeful king there stood a short old man with kooky glasses,

"You must be Skylar! Luigi has told me all about you!"

"Who are you?" Skylar asked, holding onto the door frame.

"I am Professor . You've met FLUDD before, correct?"

"Yeah?:

"I'm the one who created them!"

"Oh uh...neat…"

"You inspired me to invent something new...Something that will help others!" pulled what looked like two wings out of a bag. "These are prosthetic wings for those who have lost theirs. I know they can't replace the ones you lost, but I was hoping you'd test these prototypes for me."

Skylar smiled wider than he ever had before. "Y-yes! Of course!"

smiled and helped place the wings on him. They snapped into place easily.

Slowly Skylar flapped the wings. They wooshed slightly. They were made of hard plastic rather than feathers, but it still felt nice to flap them. After a moment he was in the air, flapping the wings. He felt the cool breeze on his face, and saw the kingdom from high above once more. They would never replace his wings, and he'd kinda started liking walking,but he was glad he could now do both. He was happy


End file.
